The aircraft was approaching Denver, Colorado, but severe weather prevented it from landing, and then low fuel saw it diverted to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where it was forced to wait for several hours.

Captain Gerhard Bradner took pity on his passengers, however, and reportedly ordered dozens of pizzas on his personal account, which were delivered to the 160 passengers waiting on board the Airbus A320.

A photo of cabin crew dishing out the food was sent to a local news network. Frontier Airlines confirmed the reports.

Passenger Logan Marie Torres told KDVR: "He said 'Ladies and gentleman, Frontier Airlines is known for being one of the cheapest airlines in the US, but your captain is not cheap - I just ordered pizza for the entire plane'."

Andrew Ritchie, manager at a branch of Domino’s in Cheyenne, told Associated Press that he took the phone call at 10pm local time, just as he was about to send his employees home. They quickly rustled up 35 pizzas and handed them over to flights attendants at the airport.

The flight took off from Cheyenne at 10.30pm local time, soon after the delivery, and landed safely in Denver 15 minutes later.

Frontier Airlines, a low-cost carrier based in Denver, was founded in 1994, and flies to 78 destinations. It is known for its extra fees, and charges passengers up to $100 to take a bag on board. That is the fee when paid at the airport. If it's paid online, it is $25.

Win one of 40 holidays worth £800,000 Telegraph Travel Awards 2014: vote for your favourite destinations and travel companies for the chance to win one of 40 luxury breaks worth a total of £800,000.